RISE OF THE MACHINES: HOW THE WOMEN BEHIND THE FASHION GAME BECAME ITS KEY PLAYERS//
FASHION INSIDERS MAKE OBVIOUS ICONS. EDITORS, BUYERS, AND GLOSSY CONTRIBUTORS HAVE ACCESS TO THE BEST OF EACH SEASON AND BOAST ACUMENS INCUBATED (APPETITES SUPPRESSED) OVER COCKTAILS WITH FASHION’S MOST INCISIVE MINDS. NOT TO MENTION, THEY’RE PREVUE TO BEAUTY REGIMES EVEN JOCELYN WILDENSTEIN CAN’T BUY.
PERHAPS TOO OBVIOUS. BECAUSE, SAVE FOR A FEW BOLDFACE EXCEPTIONS—DIANA VREELAND, ANNA PIAGGI, ISABELLA BLOW—THE FASHION INSIDER HAS LONG BEEN VICTIM OF FRANKENSTEINIAN FATE: HER NAME OFT OVERSHADOWED BY THE FACES (MODELS, CELEBS, EVEN PHOTOGS) SHE’S MADE FAMOUS.
OF LATE, THOUGH, IT SEEMS FASHION’S NEOPHILISM HAS STRUCK AGAIN. IN THE PAST 24 MONTHS, MODELS AND CELEBRITIES—ONCE THE GO-TO IT-GIRLS FOR FASHION SPECTATORS—HAVE BEEN RATHER POINTILY ELBOWED OUT. ENTER THE LIKELIEST OF STYLE ICONS, THE ORIGINAL FASHIONISTA: THE EDITRIX. THE STYLE MAKERS HAVE BEEN ELEVATED FROM THE SHADOWY TRENCHES OF THE CATWALK TO THE SMACK CENTRE OF THE RUNWAY SPOTLIGHT—A GUCCI, TOM FORD-ERA ONE, AT THAT.
CARINE ROITFELD, PARIS VOGUE’S LEADING LADY, IS THE LONGSTANDING VANGUARD OF THE EDITRIX ELITE. HER THREAD ON THE POPULAR FASHION SPOT FORUMS HAS OVER 500,000 VIEWS, BEATING OUT LOU DOILLON, THANDIE NEWTON, AND DAPHNE GUINNESS—COMBINED. LAST YEAR, FRENCH VOGUE PAID HOMAGE TO ROITFELD’S AMERICAN COUNTERPART, ANNA WINTOUR, WITH A DOPPELGANGER MODEL DONNING THE ICE QUEEN’S SIGNATURE BOB AND SUNGLASSES.
PARIS VOGUE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CARINE ROITFELD
MEANWHILE, ELLE’S SENIOR FASHION EDITOR, KATE LANPHEAR, HAS HER OWN FACEBOOK GROUP, COMPLETE WITH JAUNTY HYBRID MONIKER: LANPHEARITES UNITED. EVEN THE STREETSTYLE BLOGS, ONCE THE MOST ARDENT PREACHERS OF ACCESSIBLE DRESSING, HAVE TRADED THE EVERYGIRL FOR THE GODS. VIRGINIA SMITH, OLIVIER ZAHM, AND MELANIE HUYNH NOW MAKE REGULAR APPEARANCES ON THE SARTORIALIST.
ANNA DELLA RUSSO, FASHION EDITOR OF VOGUE NIPPON, IS USUALLY QUICK TO CALL A TREND, ALTHOUGH PERHAPS NOT ONE SO PERSONAL.
“IT’S ABOUT US, ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT WORK IN FASHION. WHAT YOU WEAR, WHAT YOU EAT, WHEN YOU SLEEP, WHEN YOU WAKE UP,” DELLA RUSSO SAYS. “IT’S THE NEW PHENOMENON.”
DELLA RUSSO’S RIGHT: ONE ROUND MARKS A TREND, THE SECOND MAKES A BONA FIDE PHENOM. SO WHILE WINTOUR, ROITFELD, AND ALT REPRESENT THE VENERABLE APEX OF EDITOR STYLE, THERE’S A NEW BREED OF UP-AND-COMING INSIDERS STOMPING (THE EFFECT; THE CAUSE? HARDYS AND ALAIAS) INTO THE SPOTLIGHT. CALL THEM THE NEW GUARD: TAYLOR TOMASI, ACCESSORIES DIRECTOR OF TEEN VOGUE; THE AFORE-MENTIONED AND FORMIDABLE KATE LANPHEAR; AND JULIA FRAKES, WRITER FOR PAPER MAGAZINE.
BUT WHY HAVE THOSE THAT FURNISHED THE REFERENCE SUDDENLY BECOME, WELL, THE REFERENCE?
ELLE MAGAZINE STYLE DIRECTOR, KATE LANPHEAR
DELLA RUSSO CREDITS THE NASCENT INTEREST TO A GREATER THIRST FOR REALISM. THE BOOM IN STREETSTYLE TRENDS AND UNDONE GLAMOUR WOULD POINT IN THAT DIRECTION. AND WHILE IT’S NEVER IN GOOD FORM TO CONTRADICT A PROFESSIONAL TRENDSETTER’S FORECASTS, FASHION HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN ABOUT REALISM. FOR ALL THE RHETORIC, THE STREETSTYLE IS PAINSTAKINGLY AFFECTED, THE UNDONE GLAMOUR METICULOUSLY DONE (AND REDONE), AND THE FASHION EDITOR NO MORE REAL THAN MAKESHIFT BALI SHE’S CREATED FOR HER SUMMER SWIMWEAR ISSUE.
LIKE A BOUQUET OF BLACK BLOSSOMS, THIS INSIDER IS A CULMINATION OF IMPOSSIBLES: CRIMINALLY STYLISH, GENETICALLY BLESSED, INCREDIBLY CONNECTED. SHE SYNTHESIZES HEMLINES AND BOTTOM LINES FROM ATOP KIRKWOOD HEELS AND TAKES HER EASE IN THE LESS-THAN-EASY-TO-ACCESS STUDIOS OF THEYSKENS OR GHESQUIERE.
VOGUE NIPPON FASHION DIRECTOR AT LARGE, ANNA DELLO RUSSO
NOT UNLIKE THE SEESAWING OF FASHION ITSELF, HER RISE IS MORE ABOUT THE FALL OF HER PROGENIES THAN HER OWN CONSCIOUS STABS FOR THE SPOTLIGHT. PERHAPS SHE’S REAL ONLY BECAUSE THE OTHERS HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AS OH-SO-FAKE.
THE CURTAINS HAVE BEEN DRAWN ON THE CELEBRITY MACHINE, THE PUPPETEERING STYLISTS RUTHLESSLY EXPOSED. THE DIEHARD FASHION CROWD HAS BEEN SOURED BY THE STARS’ NATURALLY BRUMMAGEM TASTES AND THEIR TENUOUSLY FASHION-RELATED HYPHENATE HOBBIES.
MODELS, FOR ALL THEIR LITHE AND LISSOME BEAUTY, ARE OFTEN BLANK CANVASES THAT, OFF THE RUNWAY, LOOK MORE LIKE BURLAP. (NO SURPRISE, SINCE MOST OF THESE GREEN YOUNG THINGS ARE ROOTED IN THE MIDWEST.)
TEEN VOGUE ACCESSORIES DIRECTOR, TAYLOR TOMASI
WE’VE ALSO WITNESSED THE RISE OF THE ONSCREEN EDITOR – SOME REAL, SOME FAKE, MOST PERCHED SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. THERE WAS NINA GARCIA, ELLE EDITOR-CUM PROJECT RUNWAY JUDGE-CUM FASHION AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF STYLE. THEN, MILLIONS SAW MERYL STREEP’S TURN AS THE HISTRIONIC EDITOR, MIRANDA PRIESTLY, IN THE THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. JUST RECENTLY, JOE ZEE AND ANNE SLOWEY BIRTHED THEIR OWN CW REALITY SHOW, STYLISTA.
AMONG OTHER THINGS, GARCIA, ZEE, AND EVEN STREEP HAVE REMINDED US OF THE OBVIOUS: INSIDERS DO HAVE THE BEST STYLE. AND AKIN TO THEIR RESPECTIVE PUBLICATIONS, EACH HARBINGER PURVEYS A DISTINCTLY PERSONAL VISION OF FASHION’S FUTURE. TOMASI: LAYERED IRREVERENCE; DELLA RUSSO: COUTURE-TRASH CHIC; ROITFELD: BON MAUVAIS GOÛT.
BUT AS THE MAKERS OF THE FASHION GAME, THESE GIRLS KNOW ITS RULES BEST. IN, OUT. KNOWINGLY, DELLA RUSSO SMIRKS, “THIS IS OUR MOMENT. LET’S KEEP IT UP, GIRLS, BECAUSE MAYBE THE NEXT ONE THERE WILL BE ANOTHER KIND OF PHENOMENON.”
-ADRIAN CORSIN
38 Responses to “RISE OF THE MACHINES: HOW THE WOMEN BEHIND THE FASHION GAME BECAME ITS KEY PLAYERS//”
Leave a Reply
November 24th, 2008 at 3:46 am
What a great post! LOVED it! Thx!
November 24th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Interesting-I love the way you write! You described perfectly what is going on right now, consciously or unconsciously, I’m not sure.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:22 am
top strings and millions of imitators.in the view of cultural studies it`s an interesting phenom…Fashion is substitute for something important.That`s a cause of fashion icons rising.
But post is good:)
x
November 24th, 2008 at 6:52 am
this is brilliant commentary! i suppose, too, since editors/fashion insiders may make other women famous by styling them, it is THEY who have that inborn (or bred), inherent style that is hard to replicate, too random to be shared with others. the way fashion insiders dress for reality is based on some art, some higher regard for ‘expression’ that is honestly, not easy for mere mortals to understand.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:25 am
love Love LOVE!
thanks for this fabulous post
November 24th, 2008 at 8:26 am
It’s a great analysis but I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean by “Bon mauvais goût” regarding Carine Roitfeld.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:28 am
This is such a brilliant post and I couldn’t agree more.
Kate Lanphear has to be my current fave though!
http://the-shades-of-black.blogspot.com/
November 24th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Amazing ladies!
November 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
What an insightful post! It’s time that homage was paid to the truly stylish. I’ve always thought it ridiculous to consider stars who are dressed head to toe by their stylists as fashion icons. The Editrix deserves that title so much more.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:36 am
They really are style leaders. I find their style so much more covetable that anyone elses at the moment – great post!
Carol x
November 24th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Ahhhh the boots Taylor Tomasi is wearing are amazingggg….
November 24th, 2008 at 10:34 am
great post! it felt like reading a magazine instead of a blog ^-^ i liked it a lot, what you say is absolutely true and in fact I’m glad the editrix get the recognition they deserve!
November 24th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Superb!
Have always thought, too, that great fashion magazine editors deserve far more credit than they get. The commentary on this post says it exactly as it is.
Tommy, I think, too, that your blog has done a lot to instigate this trend. Just look at your content around here, they’re all so priceless. Great photographs just do what your shots do. They make us think. It’s so fashionable, so mod. I love these times. Keep rising, machines!;) Gorrrgeouzzz!
November 24th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Excellent post. Love it and I totally agree with Monochromator.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Epic! I’m so glad this is being acknowledged. I also agree with The Monochromator that you are part of it all.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Yes but some people are just born with a fabulou sense of esthetics and style….excellent post…:)
November 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
i’ll just reiterate that i think this is a really fantastic post. and i come here daily to get my fix on all this. great work!
November 24th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Bravo! Praise the person who wrote this! Amazing.
I agree with pretty much everything. Tomasi is most certainly a rising star, and everyone is so interested in other people such as Roitfeld and Lanphear. On most days, I have forgotten about Wintour and looked towards her French counterpart for inspriation.
Thank you for posting this. So fantastic…
November 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Anna Dello Russo has great style , we looooove her
November 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
models, celebrities and what have yous? come on ? they where never ever fashion alchemists (at least not at these times). at the most they’re at the mercies- in the celebrities cases- of their friggin stylists ( who, most of the time are just bandwagon jumpers) and models? we all have to accept the fact that they are too young and ignorant to have what you call “personal style”! of course it’s not their fault to be young and such, but they just have to learn better and only time and experience will give them that. but then who cares about them except for the same people who are as clueless.
fashion editors and the likes, ok, it’s a given that they should be as stylish as could be, coz otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are if they aren’t. so it’s not really a trend. it’s just how things should be. it’s a given. a law of nature. it’s just that we, this blog and everybody else who are worth their salt in the world of style/fashion awareness have just started to be aware of them ( big thanks to this blog and the likes). this is the time of democratic fashion awareness (if that makes any sense)!
EMMANUELLE ALT! that is the name for me. she is the link between rock ‘n roll reality and high fashion idealism!
and your blog is the SHIT, by the way!
this comment is a bit wordy, i know -and you can ban me if am taking too much reading time- but hell, it’s the internet! so keep it coming coz we love it and we want more more more!!!
November 24th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
This is one of the best fashion blog entrys i have ever read!
November 24th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
… and Nancy, everybody has their own individual sense of aesthetic and style! it’s just that some human beings are lazy! mwah!
November 24th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I really appreciated this post, these are all women I have become interetsed in in the past couple of months and have been seeing more and more of lately. Roitfeld and Della Russo are my favorite style wise. I wonder how this ‘trend’ will last..
audreyandedie.blogspot.com
November 25th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Thanks for a truely great post!
November 25th, 2008 at 8:51 am
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330289453880&category=63889&_trksid=p3907.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D15%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54
November 25th, 2008 at 11:17 am
THANK YOU for this. This post is amazing.
November 25th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
LOVE BOTH THE VOGUE LADYS N IT S VERY BAD THAT DELLO RUSSO IS ANYMORE ON CHARGE OF VOGUE L UOMO…SHE WAS DOING AN AMZING JOB…ABOUT ROITFELD WHAT TO SAY..SHE CREATA THE GUCCI LOOK WITH FORD…DO U WANT MORE…))))
November 25th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I miss Isabella Blow (RIP)
Carine’s utterly amazing though
http://hapsical.blogspot.com
November 25th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
julia frakes???? – yeah lets promote anorexia even more.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Amazing post, thanks.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Interesting amazing article.may Miss Blow’s soul rest in peace. she was magnificent!
Muah!
Marian
November 28th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Hahaha!:)
I’m laughing at myself ‘cos I keep on re-reading and re-reading this post and looking at Carine’s great gams. It’s like Taylor’s boots are the sex but my eyes keep darting back to those pretty calves, knees and ankles of Madame Roitfeld. Her legs could pass for a hosiery ad, made more perfect by those sheer stockings. Those legs are to die for. The proportion, curve and shape of it all are just so wow. Am I really that obsessed? =D
December 1st, 2008 at 3:41 pm
The rise of the fashion editor as style icon makes a lot of sense, even if they occupy a style stratosphere not accessible to the average person. They have it over models, being grown-ups, for one, not Eastern European teenagers; and their advantage over actresses and pop stars is obvious: editors style themselves. I do think the curtain has been pulled back on the styling industry and most people realize that actresses employ teams of people to perfect their look.
A fashion editor is appealing because she’s usually more of a risk-taker than other celebrities who dress to look good in paparazzi photos. The editrix isn’t just about looking pretty, but wants to push the boundaries of fashion.
I’m FAR more interested in what Anna Della Russo, Giovanna Battaglia and Emmanuelle Alt are wearing than in bland celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.
December 8th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Great article.
I am a big fan of Gucci and I found some reasonably priced Gucci sunglasses on Twenga: http://www.twenga.com/dir-Fashion,Glasses,Various-sunglasses-588
Any other recommendation?
December 12th, 2008 at 12:07 am
[...] Jak and Jil blog recognises this change with Fashion Editors gaining more acknowledgment for their ability to [...]
December 14th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
HOT post. That Taylor Tomasi is GORGEOUS and her boots look pretty wearable too
December 15th, 2008 at 10:59 am
[...] Rise of the Machines – For those of us that miss Adrian Corsin (Fashion Verbatim just isn’t the same), he returns on Jak & Jil to preach the zenith of insider style without a trace of salt. [...]
December 16th, 2008 at 2:39 am
[...] Rise of the Machines – For those of us that miss Adrian Corsin (Fashion Verbatim just isn’t the same), he returns on Jak & Jil to preach the zenith of insider style without a trace of salt. [...]